Pharmacists Discuss Their Hopes for the Future of Pharmacy in 2025 | APhA 2025

The conversation highlights the rapidly evolving landscape of pharmacy, with a strong emphasis on technological innovation, professional development, and advocacy. Ravi Patel, PharmD, MBA, MS, lead innovation advisor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh, underscores a critical transition in artificial intelligence (AI), predicting that within the next 6 to 12 months, the profession will move beyond merely conceptualizing AI applications to actively implementing them in practical workflow scenarios.

Alisha Reed, PharmD, founder of Your Self Care Prescription, LLC, places focus on wellness and professional engagement. She passionately advocates for incorporating wellness strategies within the pharmacy profession, acknowledging its historically stressful nature. There's a compelling call to action for pharmacists to be proactive participants in change rather than passive complainers. This sentiment is reinforced by the belief that young practitioners and those with emerging perspectives are crucial to driving innovation in the field, according to Susan Cornell, PharmD, CDCES, FAPhA, FADCES, associate director of experiential education at the College of Pharmacy at Midwestern University.

Cornell also touches on several critical professional and policy issues. Provider status remains a key aspiration, and Kari Franson, PharmD, PhD, BCPP, senior associate dean for academic and student affairs and professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Southern California, discusses the potential rescheduling of cannabis, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity for pharmacists to demonstrate their problem-solving capabilities. Lauren Angelo, PharmD, associate dean for academic affairs at Rosalind Franklin University, discusses speaking up for patients, navigating complex issues like pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, responding to disease outbreaks, and adapting to unconventional vaccine recommendations.

Pharmacists must be active, engaged professionals who are not just witnesses to change but drivers of innovation and patient care. The experts paint an optimistic picture of pharmacy's future—a profession characterized by technological integration, continuous learning, proactive advocacy, and a commitment to improving health care delivery and patient outcomes.

"If you as a pharmacist are not involved, you're not part of the change," Cornell said. "Something that was told to me a long time ago was, 'It's easier to complain than it is to change,' and so instead of complaining, get involved and make that change."